Automatic wire tying machine



Nov. 20, 1951 w. F. VINING ETAL 2,575,899

AUTOMATIC WIRE TYING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 25, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l nvvzyrozga WLZ/QIZZ F 7472059 BY [Va/"Z672 L. flame,

Nov. 20, 1951 w. F. VINING ETAL 2,575,899

AUTOMATIC WIRE TYING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 23, 1 940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORfi MZZaraF Vuzlrzg, BY mam L Howe, @WJM Nov. 20, 1951 w. F. vmmc; ETAL 2,575,899

AUTOMATIC WIRE TYING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Dec. 25, 1940 INVENTQRS.

@MJM #QW wa Patented Nov. 20, 1951 AUTOMATIC WIRE TYIN G MACHINE Willard F. Vining, Chicago, and Martin L. Rowe,

Oak Park, Ill., assignors to Gerrard Steel Strapping Company, a corporation of Delaware Original application December 23, 1940, Serial No. 371,334, now Patent No. 2,416,859, dated March Divided and this application March 3, 1947, Serial No. 732,090

This invention has to do with automatic wire tying machines of the type in which the wire is fed into the machine from a coil or other continuous supply, is looped about the box or other article to be bound, and is thereafter drawn taut under predetermined tension about the article by a reversal of the wire feeding means.

The purpose of the invention is to provide new and improved means for controlling the slack which develops in the wire between the feeding means and the coil or other continuous supply upon the reversal of the feeding means, whereby to prevent kinking or other damage to the wire and maintain the same in condition for feeding upon the next operation of the machine.

Other more specific objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a full understanding of the construction, arrangement and operation of the new slack take-up means.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is presented herein for the purpose of exemplifies.- tion, but it will of course be appreciated that the invention is capable of embodiment in other structurally modified forms coming equally with in the scope of the appended claims.

4 Claims. (Cl. 100--31) here to the extent necessary to explain the relationship thereto of the slack take-up means.

As will be observed in the drawings, the machine includes a table-like support In. The boxes or other articles to be tied are moved across the support It, preferably on anti-friction rollers ll, onto a plate l2, into overhanging relation to the front edge 13 of that plate. The plate I3 is provided intermediate its ends with a forwardly projecting lip 14 which supports the overhanging portion of the article during the tying operation. The machine is provided, in substantially the vertical plane of the front edge l3, with a wire looping track 39, which track extends in a generally rectangular helical path from its receiving end 40 to its delivery end 4|. The wire used in the machine is drawn from a coil or other continuous supply (not shown), passes through the tube 42 (see Figs. 3, 4 and 6) past a spring pressed clutch block 43 which prevents any reverse movement of back pocket 44 formed within the upper portion of the right-hand side of the table-like support 10, leaves the pocket 44 through a guide 45 which This application is a division of application Serial No. 371,334 filed December 23, 1940, which has issued as Patent 2,416,859, dated March 4, 1947.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic wire tying machine equipped with slack take-up means constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the righthand end of the table-like top of the machine, showing the pocket for accumulating the slack wire fed back by the feed rolls during the reverse operation of the latter;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation oi. the same portion of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through the feed-back pocket, taken' on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through the delivery end of the wire tube leading from the coil or other continuous supply, showing the one-way clutch for preventing return movement of the glireathrough the tube. taken on the line 8-5- of The automatic wire tying machine which is shown in the drawings is illustrated and described in detail in Patent 2,416,859 referred to above and is therefore only illustrated and described is spaced from but aligned axially with the delivery end of the tube 42, passes between two pairs of grooved feed rolls 4B, enters a flexible tube 41, and is directed by the tube 4'! into a groove (not shown) in the receiving end 40 of the track 39. This groove extends the full length of the looped track 39, in confronting relationship to the article on the top plate l2, and is partially closed at all points throughout its length by one or more fingered spring strips 49, which spring strips confine the wire within the groove when being projected through the same while allowing the wire to be stripped from the groove when the leading end of the wire is held against return movement and the direction of rotation of the feed rolls 4B is reversed.

As the incoming wire-indicated at 50 in Figs. 3, 4 and 6--is drawn from the tube 42 by the feed rolls 46 it forces back a light leaf spring 5| located in the pocket 44. When the direction of rotation of the feed rolls 46 is reversed, causing the wire to be fed back toward the supply, the spring 5| will push the wire sidewise a short distance and cause it to accumulate in the pocket 44 in a large loose loop 52 in readiness for the next wire feeding operation. The feed rolls 4B are mounted in a bracket 53 and are driven in first one direction and then the other from a reversible electric motor 62.

When the leading end of the wire, after traveling the full length of the looped track 39, reaches the delivery end 4| of the track it is automatically engaged and held by a gripper (not shown), which gripper is located at the right-hand side of a wire tying mechanism indicated generally by the numeral J5. This gripper transfers -.the leading end of the wire to theleft-hand side of the wire tying mechanism, after which the direction of rotation of the feed rolls 46 is reversed,

causing the looped portion of the wire to be stripped from the track 39 and pulled taut under predetermined tension about the article resting on the plate l2, with the then-overlappedportions of the wire operatively positioned with-me spect to the tying mechanism., The tying mechanism then twists the overlapped portions of the. wire together and severs the surplus wire-at the ends of the .tie. During the reverse rotation of the feed rolls 46 the slack which develops in the wire between the feed rolls and the tube-42 is 3' directed by the spring 5| into the loop formation 52; 'withoutkinking or other damage to the wire, leaving the wire in condition for proper feedingby:the rolls 45' upon the next operation of the machine.

We claim: I c 1. In. a machine of the character describe means for feeding wire from a supply, means for" 4 the feed rolls, and a spring located in the path of feed of the wire for deflecting the wire laterally into the chamber in the form of .a loose loop during the reversal of the feed rolls.

. 3., In .a machine of the-character described, rolls for feeding wire into the machine from a point of supply, a fiat chamber between the feed rolls and the point of supply, means for reversing the feed rolls, and a leaf spring extending 'generally in thedirection of feed of the Wire with a resiliently yieldable portion thereof located in the path of 'the' feed for deflecting the wire laterally, into the chamber in the form of a loose loop during the reversal of the feed rolls.

4. Infa machine of the character described,

rolls for feeding wire into the machine from a point of supply, a flat chamber between the feed rolls andthe point of supply, means for reversing the feed rolls, a spring located in the path of feed of the wire for deflecting the wire laterally into-the chamber in the-form of a looseloop during the reversalof-the feed rolls, and; one-- way clutch means engageablewith the wire' in termediate the'locp thereinand the supply for;

preventing the wire in the loop from moving backwardly toward the supply.

WILLARD FLVINING.

MARTIN L. ROWE.

REFERENCES CITED I The following references are. of record in they file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,124,770 Evans July 26, 1938 2,206,299 ,Dunn et a1. July 2, 1940,

Workman o Aug, 29, 1944 

